The Billionaire's Untouchable Ex-wife

Chapter 1 CHLOE DAVIES DON'T WAIT FOR ME TONIGHT. LOUISA CAUGHT THE FLU, AND I'M STAYING WITH HER. I stared at the text Justin sent to me, my chest wrenching painfully. Tears blurred my vision as my gaze dropped to the dining table. I'd spent three hours in the kitchen, making Justin's favourite meal... Got a few gifts, not only to celebrate our three years anniversary, but with the hope that this gesture would save our already dying marriage. I took a deep breath, squeezing my eyes shut. He probably forgot our anniversary is today. I convinced myself, but deep down, I knew it didn't make sense. A text came in again. This time, from an unregistered number. My thumb trembled as it hovered over the text before clicking on it, and immediately, a picture of Justin and Louisa, his adopted sister popped on the screen. He was holding her hand tenderly... The way he hadn't held me in years. And Louisa... She laid on the bed, half-naked. 'Do you still think you have a place in his life? I didn't even need much to keep him by my side even though it's your anniversary today' Then it clicked... Justin knew it was our anniversary today. My chest tightened... I couldn't breathe. I clutched my phone tightly in my palm. My chest burned with anger. Just when I thought everything was falling into place... Just when I was hoping I could save our marriage, and now this? To save my father's dying company three years ago, I had signed a marriage contract with Justin Whitcomb to last two years. The rules were simple. No strings attached. I'm only his wife at home, but not in public. I married him because of my father's company, and he married me to get his grandfather's inheritance. That day, I had showed up at the courthouse with nothing but a borrowed dress. My father couldn't even afford a wedding dress for me. The first three months of our marriage was awkward... We couldn't be in the same space. He introduces me to people as his secretary. Then came the day everything changed. We'd gone for a function together, and Justin defended me when someone tried to talk down on me. Later that night, we had our first s*x. He was gentle, worshipped my body, and made me feel the way no man has ever done before. Our marriage life became less awkward and boring. Justin would make love to me at any given opportunity. In his study, the kitchen, the living room... And the weirdest places. I loved every bit of it... Not just the s*x, but the way he cared about me, and the little things he did for me. Covering me with a blanket whenever I was sleeping without one, brewing my favourite coffee, noticing every little details. I was never meant to fall for him, but I did. How could I not? He treated me so well. Our marriage was supposed to last for just two years, but six months prior to the expiration of our contract, Justin asked to extend it for 'business' reasons... I agreed. The truth is, I didn't want to leave the marriage either. Everything changed six months ago after Louisa, his adopted sister returned from abroad. I could still remember when I first met Louisa. It was at a function. She'd approached me with a warm smile that almost didn't reach her eyes. 'I heard you're Justin's wife' She'd said to me, glancing over to Justin who was still speaking with a business partner, her eyes burning with... jealousy. She had patted my cheek playfully and said, ‘Don’t get jealous later. I'm Justin's first sweetheart… I've always been. I hope you've prepared your heart for what's to come?’ I didn't understand at first, but I noticed the way she stared at him that night, and I realised that she didn't see him as a brother… Her whole world was centered on him. Then everything changed afterwards. Justin would come home late at night, smelling of Louisa. No explanation, no remorse. Just coldness that always broke my heart. ‘Louisa’s car broke down. I was helping her to fix it' ‘Louisa burned her hand with coffee, I needed to drive her to the hospital' ‘Louisa had a mental breakdown. I needed to be by her side' It was always one excuse or the other, and hearing Louisa's name every single time really broke me. It felt like they were the real couple, and I was just the third wheel in their marriage life. And when I tried to speak up, Justin would say that I'm crazy. How could I suspect him with his sister? I should've walked out of the marriage, but a part of me was still holding on to our memories together. A part of me was still hoping he would come around. I still craved that love he showed me. How could I not cling to the memories? For a girl who wasn't loved by her family, I just wanted to stay where I was loved. I grew up to find myself in an orphanage. I had no idea who my birth parents were, but the patron always told me when I was five, that I was abandoned by my birth mother. They'd found me, a day old baby, crying outside the orphanage home one night, almost dying in the cold. That was it. They took me in. My new parents adopted me fourteen years ago when I was just eight. I was raised to never say no. They did me a favor by adopting me, so I had to do whatever they asked... And that included saving dad's company by marrying Justin when he was at the verge of losing everything. My gaze dropped to my phone... The dark screen reflected my face. My perfect make-up had been smudged. The weight of everything pressing down on my chest. But even in that moment, I still told myself to hang on... To a hope that wasn't there. Justin will come around. He loves me. He won't give up on us just like that... I won't give up on us either. We can pull through this together…